In a race, the player may not exit his/her vehicle and can respawn to the last checkpoint by holding down Triangle or Y, except in Free Race or Cannonball Run.

GTA Race

A GTA Race is essentially the same as a normal Race, but the competitors may use weapons to kill or slow down the competition. You may also exit and enter other vehicles.
There are two additional features for a GTA Race, including which Weapons will spawn on the track (All Weapons, Off, Health Only, Pistols, Shotguns, SMGs, All Guns or Guns & Grenades) and Auto-Aim (Allow or Disallow). The Rocket Launcher and Molotov Cocktails also appear, but only on the "All Weapons" setting.

If you die in a GTA Race, you will respawn near your last completed Checkpoint on foot, next to a Faggio.

However, these races can be very cheap and turn into impromptu Deathmatches, as other players often block off the road near a weapon location and kill many players, often getting more money than the winner of the race.